Doctor's Orders
by Vivian Troche
Summary: A Lannie one-shot, sometime post-Holiday Madness during West Bev's Winter Break. Liam is still at the Wilson's and Annie has made a big decision. But, what/who has she chosen? This is strong T for thematic elements, but not as M as I've been in the past.


A/N For the purposes of this quick little story Liam is still hurting pretty bad and maybe even had to start off in worse shape than he was initially on the show. Also, I'm going to refer to some stuff that Annie does, but I'm not going to show it. Just a little heads up. ;p

Doctor's Orders

Muted sunlight dripped silently through the blinds as Liam slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus on the glinting particles in the beams. The room was warm and quiet, and he closed his eyes again, trying to isolate the sound of Annie's barely audible breathing. He turned his head toward the regular whisper and saw her lying on the window seat, head resting on her shoulder, her face demure and soft.

Liam had tried to push the thoughts of her body entwined with his far from his mind. But as he looked at her, he couldn't help thinking about how she had _felt _around him. He was still hurting, still at the Wilson's house and still tormented by how near she was because he couldn't touch her again. They'd agreed—well, she'd _told _him what was going to happen and he'd merely been party to it—but she was determined not to do anything until she had cleared the air and ended it with Charlie. Then again, Liam wasn't entirely sure she was _going_ to _end _it, and he wasn't one for patience.

At the thought of Charlie, a boulder of heat crushed Liam's chest, a sure sign of his overwhelming desire to go out and do damage to something, be anywhere but near the one thing he wanted and couldn't have. He snapped his eyes shut and took a deep breath, clenching his fists he bit his lip and tried to hold onto the hope he had seen in her eyes when he'd told her he was in love with her.

When he opened his eyes again Annie was awake and scrolling through something on her phone; a look of heartfelt concentration was etched through her features. She touched the screen and tossed the phone to the bench seat, sighing heavily. Liam quickly shut his eyes and tried to mute his features, she did things she probably didn't mean to do when she thought he was asleep.

After a couple tell-tale creaks of the floorboards, Liam felt the bed lower slightly as she leaned her knee against the mattress and touched the bruising on his face and neck. He felt cooler air as she pulled the sheet down from his chest and worked tremendously hard not to shudder when her fingertips found his other injuries. After a seeming eternity, he felt a warmth near him and realized she had put her cheek next to his and her lips next to his ear. Despite his efforts to the contrary, his breath quickened with the onset of adrenaline and desire to be wrapped up inside her again.

She breathed silently against his neck and said slowly "I know you're awake, Liam."

"Damn you." He sighed, turning his head away from her. "What did you really come over here for then?"

"I spoke with Dr. Abraham yesterday." She said seriously, ignoring his look of annoyance that she would presume it was ok for her to answer his phone. "You were asleep, Liam, I only answered because it was him."

"Whatever. And? What did the good doctor have to say?"

"He just wanted to make sure you weren't overdoing it on your pain meds, given your…um—"

"My drug history?"

"Yeah." Annie looked tense for a moment, then continued. "Look, everything's fine on that front, but he asked about how your bruising was looking and since it wasn't any better then and isn't any better now he actually had some recommendations."

"Annie, they're bruises." Liam said tiredly, yet slipping a hand around the back of her thigh. "I've survived worse."

Annie looked down; Liam thought she was deciding whether or not to leave his hand where it was. She looked up at him her eyes soft and leaned into his hand. "I know, but he said that if there wasn't an improvement by today I was supposed to make you do something."

Liam let his hand slip away from her, suspicious. "Do what?"

Annie tried to keep acting serious, but soon a giant smile erupted onto her face. "Force you to take a bath."

Liam shook his head as if he had water in his ears. "A bath…me…you fucking kidding?"

"Yeah, he told me what to put in it and everything." Annie looked at him, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "I even got Epsom salts."

"Like hell."

"Liam, don't be a moron. It will make you feel better."

"It's stupid."

"Liam."

"I'm fine…at the very least fine enough to _avoid _that."

Annie looked nonplussed. "Liam, you know just because I've treated you with an excellent bedside manner so far does not mean that my threat to kick your ass doesn't still stand. I still have my fists of fury." She adopted a fighting stance. "Plus, I'm just genuinely not in the mood for your whiny shit today."

Liam's expression changed at the sudden expulsion of anger from her. "What? Why? What happened today?"

Annie raised an eyebrow at him, holding his gaze and then looking down. "Never mind. It's not important. Just do this, ok? For me? I want you to feel better." She touched a bruise at his temple with her fingertips.

He looked into her eyes and saw an unknowable expression written there. If he did this, maybe she'd tell him what was wrong. "Fine." He said finally throwing the covers off. He lifted an arm toward her. "Let's go."

She dipped under his arm, careful not to press against his ribs and helped him out of bed and into the bathroom. She sat him down on the toilet seat and turned the water on, soon after steam began to rise from the tub. Annie rummaged around in a canvas drug store bag and took out a number of different little packets and containers. She set them on the counter and added them to the bath water in small shakes. Surprisingly, the bathroom filled with the scent of rosemary, a far cry from the medicinal sheen Liam expected to have already coated the inside of his nostrils.

Annie's cell phone chirped from Dixon's room but she didn't move to answer it.

"You gonna get that?" Liam asked, puzzled.

"No. Why would I? I'm busy." She shot him a quick inscrutable look and walked to him. "Arms up."

"Annie, I can take off my own damn—" Liam hissed in pain as he tried to take off his t-shirt, his ribs throwing white hot light straight into his pain receptors.

Annie made an I-want-to-choke-you-out gesture and laid her hands on his shoulders. Taking a deep breath she looked at him and mustered a soft, understanding look. "No, Liam. You can't. Now arms up. Let me help, you, ok? I want to help."

Liam looked up at her face, the pleading expression written there almost too much for him to handle. Annie hadn't talked to him much since…well, since that night. He couldn't be sure if she regretted it or if she was just busy with taking care of him, getting his meds, all that. Either way, for one of the first times in his life he felt vulnerable, to the point that he didn't want to ask her anything, mostly because he feared for what she would say. Only one answer would make him happy, and he was actually scared it was the one thing she wouldn't be able to tell him. So, he just stayed quiet and enjoyed the life he knew wouldn't last. Dixon played video games with him and would bring the boys over, Mrs. Wilson made him whatever he wanted to eat and Annie was the one who _really_ made sure he was alright.

Since he'd been at her house he'd only woken up one time to find her gone from the window seat she slept in. All the other nights she'd been right there, barely dozing, making sure he took his meds, keeping watch over him.

Realizing he was being an ass he lifted his arms over his head and let her slip his shirt off.

She tossed it into the hamper in the corner of the room and touched the side of his face. "There. Better, right?"

He looked down at her toes and smiled. "Yeah. Bettter."

She handed him a washcloth and kissed his forehead; the desire he had to pull her to him was unbearable, but she stepped away from him before he had gathered enough courage to give into it.

"Look um…" she began hesitantly. "I have to go out for a little while. Maybe like, a half hour. Will you be ok until I get back?"

Liam's hand whipped out almost without his knowledge and he grabbed her wrist. "Don't leave." He begged softly.

She looked up and sighed, her body seeming to sag with some weight he couldn't see. "Liam." She said sternly without turning toward him. "There's something I _have_ to do. I'll be back soon…I promise."

With that she walked quickly out of the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Liam stared despondently at the steam rising from the tub; finally he stood, finished getting undressed and tried to find whatever peace he could in the bubble-covered and fragrant water.

_I guess that means you won. _Liam thought to himself, squeezing his eyes shut against the reality that Annie was never really his to lose.

35 minutes later Annie stood staring at the bathroom door, the key quivering in her hand. Needing the help his voice would give her, she knocked quietly on the door, the silence of the rest of the house drowning her in the sound of her own heartbeat.

"Liam? I'm back. Can I come in?"

Liam blinked tiredly. Despite himself sitting in the hot, soothing water had made him feel better, so relaxed that he'd probably dozed off more than once.

"It's locked, remember?" He chided through the door, surprised at the sour way his voice sounded.

"I have a key."

"Oh, um yeah. Right. Your house. Yeah, come on in."

Annie turned the key and closed and locked the door behind her again. Her face seemed different, but Liam couldn't say why exactly. She stood by the door awkwardly for a moment, her hands clasped in front of her, fidgeting. Finally she walked over to him and sat on the edge of the tub, a determined aura surrounding her. Her closeness made him feel ever grateful to the long lasting bubbles, but nonetheless he sat up a bit straighter. She slipped her hand into the water and twirled her index finger idly.

"The water's still so hot."

"I added more."

She gave him a bemused sidelong glance.

"You were right. I feel a lot better. But no 'I told you so's'!"

She laughed, a wide smile cracking the formerly stoic porcelain of her face.

Liam's hand found hers under the water's surface. She intertwined her fingers with his slowly, the movement creating an upsurge of heat in Liam's torso that had nothing to do with the water.

"Where did you go?"

She expelled a shaky breath. "I went to see Charlie, Liam."

Instinctively, the heat in his chest from her hand turned to bricks of ice and he started to pull his hand away.

"Hey!" she snapped, gripping his fingers tighter. "Will you just let me tell you this, before you go off jumping to stupid conclusions?"

Liam was about to retort with something he'd surely regret and he bit his tongue, hard, leaving his hand where it was.

"Thank you. Now…I went to see Charlie, because I wanted to break up with him in person."

Shock momentarily flooded Liam's system leaving him with a dull, numb pulsing in his veins. Then the implications of what she had said began to come into focus.

Trying to concentrate on being mature, Liam forced his hand not to shake in hers and looked up at her.

"Um…how did he take it?"

"Better than I expected, actually. I told him it was just…the wrong time and that I couldn't lead him on anymore…which is pretty much true."

"The wrong time…" Liam echoed. "You didn't tell him about…"

"I told him there was someone else, but with everything it seems you guys have between you, I didn't want to add to it. Cowardly, maybe…but I just couldn't tell him about what we did."

Liam nodded and a tension began to fill the air like water flooding a room.

"Liam, about the other night—"

"Annie, don't."

"Shut up, Liam! Look, the other night I was confused…I thought about how I could have lost you and it scared me. It woke me up. I know I didn't say then what you wanted to hear and I'm so sorry about that, but—"

"But _what_, Annie!" Liam asked angrily, tearing his hand away from hers and splashing her shirt with water.

"God dammit, Liam!" Annie practically screamed, jumping up and tearing her shirt off. She spun back toward him her eyes ablaze and her chest heaving. "But I _should_ have. Ok? I _should_ have said exactly what you wanted me to."

"Yeah? Why?" He asked, not even looking at her and counting the seconds until she left the room so he could get the hell out the stupid bathtub.

"Because! Because I'm in love with you, too."

The room was suddenly a vacuum of infinite silence.

"I don't remember exactly when it happened," she continued, quavering. "All I know is…I have been, I am, and…and I feel like I always will be."

"Annie." Liam breathed.

Turning toward her he saw hot tears bleeding from her eyes, but a look of utterly serene surrender on her face.

She sat back down on the edge of the tub and he pushed himself toward her wrapping his hand around her neck and rubbing her upper lip with his thumb.

She laughed and licked the corner of her mouth. "I don't care what the risks are anymore. I don't care about what people think…I don't even care about how crazy you drive me. I look at you…" her eyes danced upon his face tenderly. "I love you."

She crushed her lips upon his and wrapped her arms around him, completely forgetting she was balancing on the side of the bathtub.

He returned her kiss passionately and draped his other arm around her waist. He felt her weight shift in a distant corner of his brain and it was all the hint he needed. Forgetting entirely about his injuries he slammed himself backward into the water and pulled her in with him. Her lips fell from his and she made a high pitched noise that was either a squeal or a scream which melted immediately into uproarious laughter that harmonized with the sound of water sloshing onto the bathroom tile.

Sliding her on top of him his lips found hers again and he kissed her until he felt like he couldn't breathe. After they broke apart Liam smiled fiendishly. "I need to get hurt more often."

"No!" she said, stabbing a finger at his nose. "I need to get you healthy first. At least stay fight-free for a month. I can't keep up this nursing thing."

He kissed her teasingly, his hand pressing into the small of her back. "That's true. You can't. Annie Wilson I love you, but your bedside manner definitely needs improvement."

"Oh, really?" She asked, slowly moving her lower body until her legs straddled his. "So, you're saying I need to keep an eye on you 24/7?"

"Oh, at least. You'll definitely have to see to it my door stays shut more often too. I like my privacy."

Annie nodded studiously and kissed the side of his mouth. "I'll remember that for next time. And I know you just pulled me in here to get your revenge for my pulling you into the fountain last year."

"You can't prove that."

She kissed him again. "It was an accident. You shouldn't be allowed to get revenge for accidents."

"Deep down," he whispered, pressing her against his chest, "You know you did that on purpose."

"_You _can't prove _that_, either."

"Who needs proof?"

Annie merely rolled her eyes and traced his lips with the tip of her finger.

As Liam focused on the sensation of her skin against his lips he gradually realized he was still in a lot of pain. His face must have given him away because he felt her hand against his cheek and she was looking at him intently.

"Your elbow's pressing into my rib, Annie."

"Oh! Shit. Yeah, I'm gonna go now and leave you in peace." She kicked her leg over the side of the tub and stepped out awkwardly, making sure not to press any of her weight into him. After wrapping a towel around herself she turned her back to him and slipped out of her jeans, wringing them out over the sink. Liam watched her every move, a hungry gnawing starting to grow within him.

Without turning toward him, Annie spoke in as casual a tone as she could manage. "So, my mom's at some event at the Beach Club tonight and Dixon's spending the night at Navid's."

Liam sat up and splashed water onto his face, desperately trying to stop envisioning all the possible endings to that statement. "Oh?" He asked innocently.

"Yeah. Just thought you'd be interested in that piece of information." She looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes smoldering. "You know, you should consider sleeping in my bedroom tonight. With no one else in the house it would be easier for me to...take _care _of you if you were close to me. Just a thought."

Liam struggled to stay seated in the bathtub instead of hurling himself out of it and slamming her against the door. "Right. I'll think about it."

"You do that." she said. She winked and left the bathroom, leaving the door open behind her.

Liam padded softly to Annie's bedroom a towel wrapped around his waist. Annie was standing near her bed side table, still in the towel she had worn out of the bathroom. Barely resisting the urge to scare her, he tapped lightly on her door.

She looked up and smiled, deviously biting her lower lip.

"So, Doc." He began, leaning against the door frame. "Got anything to ease my pain tonight?"

She made a low purring sound and looked up questioningly. "Hmm. I think I may have something. Why don't you shut that," she motioned toward the door. "and then come and get it."

As Liam turned to close the door he heard her towel fall to the floor.


End file.
